Lin Chen didn’t know what was happening. He had just replied to Si Ang’s message when he heard the sound of a helicopter overhead.
Then he saw Si Ang’s figure. The other man put a finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet.
Lin Chen instantly understood and waited quietly until the other hung up before asking, “Mr. Si, what brings you here so suddenly?”
Si Ang looked at the surprised young man and said seriously, “To go fishing.”
Lin Chen immediately glanced at the bowl of fish he had caught, about to speak but then swallowed his words.
Wait, this fishing wasn’t the kind of fishing he expected.
He thought for a moment and understood, smiling knowingly, “Did Mr. Si catch a big fish that satisfied him?”
Si Ang nodded. He looked deeply at Lin Chen, and said, “You did me a great favor.”
He had expected Lin Chen to follow up with, “What great favor?”
Lin Chen replied, “It’s my pleasure to help you.”
This surprised Si Ang. He’d heard similar words countless times, but this was the one that pleased him most.
“Really? That’s perfect. I have many things I’d like your help with,” Si Ang said.
“Like what?” Lin Chen, being an ordinary person, felt a little uneasy and didn’t want to be dragged into the Si family’s power struggle.
Si Ang thought for a moment and said, “Teach me how to make steamed buns, cook, and write. Is calligraphy difficult to learn?”
Oh, so that’s what kind of help he was asking?
Lin Chen immediately felt embarrassed, and realized he’d caused trouble for others. He sincerely apologized, “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault for being so clever…”
The “Slender Gold” calligraphy style, which makes many people’s hands ache from practicing, is probably a bit difficult to learn.
“It’s alright, you did very well,” Si Ang interrupted Lin Chen.
Thanks to Lin Chen, this time he wasn’t trending on social media for negative reasons.
Si Ang had a poor public image; in the past, whenever something happened, the public’s opinion was always one-sided with very few people consistently speaking up for him.
However, that blog post had a significant impact. While it didn’t completely turn the tide, it at least brought him a large number of supporters.
Si Ang couldn’t help but reflect on whether his previous image had been too tough. It probably was; he had always only armed himself, reluctant to show his softer side.
Even his closest relative, his grandfather, questioned his humanity.
Through this unexpected incident, he thought that learning to show weakness and using retreat as a strategy might be a good approach.
Lin Chen inadvertently noticed the fatigue in Si Ang’s eyes and suggested, “Mr. Si, you must be tired from your journey. Why don’t you take a shower and get some rest?”
Si Ang snapped out of his thoughts and nodded, “Okay.”
Parker, having not seen its master for two days, came over and rubbed against its master’s arm with its eyes half-closed.
“Parker.” Si Ang stroked its head. It was strange, really; he’d trusted Lin Chen so much to let him take Parker away.
Now, seeing Parker’s immediate recovery, it probably wasn’t just because of returning to the wild, was it?
It must have a lot to do with Lin Chen.
Lin Chen calculated their arrival time; they probably wouldn’t be eating on time. Since they’d just caught some fish, Lin Chen immediately put on gloves and began scaling, cleaning, and filleting the fish after Si Ang went into the bathroom.
The pot of porridge was still warm; he added some vegetables and corn kernels to make a pot of hot fish fillet porridge.
After Si Ang finished showering, Lin Chen placed the porridge directly in front of him: “Mr. Si, eat before you sleep.”
Si Ang was taken aback, and about to say to Lin Chen, “You don’t need to be so obsequious,” when Lin Chen turned to the others and called out, “The porridge is ready, everyone hurry up and finish your midnight snack before going to bed.”
“Coming, coming!”
“What are we having for dinner tonight?”
The others seemed quite used to it, and clearly it wasn’t the first time.
Si Ang then realized that Lin Chen wasn’t deliberately trying to please him; he was just doing it incidentally: “…”
He lowered his head and drank his porridge to hide his embarrassment. So this was what it felt like to be deluded.
The RV had limited rooms, and Lin Chen thought the bedroom should be given to the owner: “Mr. Si, you can sleep in the bedroom tonight, I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
The RV’s sofa could be extended into a small bed, but it was really small, and more suitable for a child.
Lin Chen, at 185cm tall, would definitely find it uncomfortable.
Si Ang glanced at the sofa but didn’t agree: “No need, the sofa’s too small, you can’t sleep on it.”
“The bed in the bedroom is spacious enough; even two people sleeping there is more comfortable than sleeping on the sofa.”
“Let’s sleep in the bedroom together.”
“That won’t do,” Lin Chen instinctively refused.
The bodyguard couldn’t bear to see Lin Chen sleep on the sofa and quickly said, “Lin Chen, come sleep here with me, I’ll go outside and set up the tent.”
Si Ang immediately rejected the idea: “I don’t recommend setting up a tent outside; this area isn’t safe.”
There are many wild animals in the forest; it’s too dangerous.
He looked at Lin Chen again and said, “No need to refuse. There’s no need for such formalities when you’re traveling.”
“If I hadn’t come at the last minute, I wouldn’t have had to fight for your bedroom. Why would I let you sleep on the sofa?”
Lin Chen said, “You’re joking. The whole car is yours. There’s no question of fighting.”
However, since the boss had spoken, refusing would seem ungrateful: “Alright, if I’m a restless sleeper, you can kick me out of bed in the middle of the night.”
Si Ang knew Lin Chen was joking and actually smiled along.
The bodyguards were all surprised. In their memory, Si Ang was a pampered, aloof scion of heaven, and definitely not the type to mingle with his subordinates.
Tonight, he was proactively inviting Lin Chen to sleep with him and even caring whether Lin Chen was sleeping comfortably. Even Man Di hadn’t received this kind of treatment.
Parker had been out for a few hours and was already dozing off by the bedside when they spoke.
Lin Chen quickly took a shower. Remembering he had already washed his hair last night, and to save water, he didn’t wash it again tonight. “The boss probably won’t mind, right?”
Si Ang was already lying down. Lin Chen glanced at him; the other man’s eyes were closed, and he couldn’t tell if he was asleep. He thought to himself, “The richest man’s face is truly outstanding. A straight nose, superior features—even men would take a second look.”
Lin Chen asked, “Mr. Si, could you turn off the light?”
Si Ang replied, “Sure.”
Lin Chen didn’t want to crowd his boss, so he lay on the edge of the bed and turned off the light.
Parker was below. Lin Chen couldn’t fall asleep for a while, so he played with Parker’s ears.
Parker got annoyed and started shaking his ears wildly.
Lin Chen was mischievous, suppressing a laugh but persisting. As a result, Parker bit his finger, and he couldn’t help but gasp in the darkness.
“Lin Chen, what’s wrong?” Si Ang’s voice followed.
“Nothing,” Lin Chen said awkwardly.
It wasn’t hard for Si Ang to know. He and Parker shared a thought and he said casually, “If you don’t pull its ears, it won’t bite you.”
“Um…” Lin Chen was so embarrassed he almost scratched his toes.
The next morning, Lin Chen woke up at seven. Knowing Parker would get restless at that time, he got up early to let Parker out so as not to disturb Si Ang’s sleep.
Then he pondered what to have for breakfast.
Lin Chen felt hopeless. The heir to the planet’s richest man was lying next to him, and instead of thinking about a bright future and meteoric rise, he was thinking about what to have for breakfast.
Perhaps this was the chosen one, the working class.
A tall figure approached. Lin Chen turned and asked, “Mr. Si, why didn’t you sleep a little longer?”
Si Ang, still in his pajamas, replied lazily, “That’s enough. I haven’t slept this early in years.”
Lin Chen, washing vegetables, asked, “Did you sleep well last night? Did I squeeze you?”
Si Ang paused, then answered honestly, “I’ve never slept in such a crowded bed before, but the sleep quality was pretty good.”
He turned to wash up, then went out to find Parker.
When they returned from their outing, Lin Chen had already prepared breakfast. The boss was here today, so the meal was plentiful: scallion oil noodles, millet porridge, steamed taro and pork ribs, egg pancakes, and fried spring rolls.
Lin Chen, thinking of steaming the pork ribs, also made some dumplings to steam together. Due to time constraints, he didn’t make many, just one steamer basket in front of Si Ang.
“I didn’t make many dumplings today. I’ll make more for everyone later.”
No one objected. It was no joke; this was their boss, after all, and special treatment was expected.
And thanks to the boss, they had a very lavish breakfast this morning with all sorts of novel dishes they’d never seen before. They couldn’t wait to eat.
Si Ang raised an eyebrow. This young man always did things unexpectedly, yet he was always very pleasing to the eye.
His sense of propriety was just right.
Si Ang picked up a dumpling specially provided for him, ate it, and before he could even form the words to describe it, he picked up a second one.
After he started eating, everyone else could eat too. Compared to his usual refined manners, they ate at a surprisingly fast pace.
Lin Chen knew his colleagues well and quickly served Si Ang a dish of food.
The bodyguard couldn’t help but ask, “What’s this crispy thing called? It’s delicious.”
“Fried spring rolls,” Lin Chen said. “You can make them sweet or savory. Today I made the sweet ones.”
“I like pancakes, but I’ve never had this kind of texture before. It’s very chewy,” the driver invented a new way of eating spring rolls wrapped in pancakes.
Lin Chen chuckled, “Anything can be rolled up. Next time, try rolling vegetables and ham.”
Si Ang ate while listening to their quiet conversation with many thoughts flashing through his mind.
He was still analyzing and reviewing his decision from half a month ago, realizing it was actually a bad move.
But it wasn’t entirely wrong either. If he hadn’t made that bad move, how could he have recognized his youthful impetuosity and arrogance?
“Mr. Si, is it not to your liking?” Lin Chen asked, noticing his serious expression.
“No, it’s delicious,” Si Ang replied.
The ingredients were all ordinary, but the taste was very pleasant. Si Ang unknowingly ate a lot, and finished the entire basket of dumplings specially provided for him.
“Lin Chen, why are you worried that your cooking isn’t good?” The bodyguard’s question was quite insightful.
“Yes, I’ve been wanting to ask that for a while. Are your parents chefs?”
Otherwise, they couldn’t understand how a young college student could cook, and cook so professionally.
Actually, it wasn’t that exaggerated. Their perception of Lin Chen’s professionalism was based on comparison.
The more advanced the technology, the fewer young people can cook.
Lin Chen dared not tell the truth, so he used the original owner’s background as a pretext: “I was abducted as a child, and my life was quite difficult. I was constantly on the move before adulthood, and I learned to cook to survive.”
Everyone immediately looked at him with shock and sympathy.
“What?”
“Have you found your family yet?”
“Right now, I’m still alone.” His past was indeed quite tragic, so Lin Chen quickly reassured everyone, “But it’s all in the past. Since I got into Tyron University, I’ve been doing quite well.”
As for the original owner’s troublesome family, he didn’t want to mention a word.
He just hoped the original owner was lucky enough to go to his side; his life was pretty good.
“You’re a student at Tyron University?” The bodyguards were surprised again.
Considering Lin Chen’s troubled past, they could only think he was exceptionally outstanding.
“Lin Chen, you’re truly a role model for young people.”
Lin Chen smiled, not embarrassed at all. This Tyron University was probably equivalent to Tsinghua or Peking University; he wasn’t exactly faking being a top student, was he?
Si Ang had seen Lin Chen’s file and understood his life trajectory and experiences much better; it wasn’t as simple as those few words made it out to be.
One of the bodyguards couldn’t help but ask, “Have you thought about finding your family?”
“If you’d be willing to help, sir…”
“No need,” Lin Chen said gratefully but declined, “Perhaps they’ve already started new families, and it’s good that they’re all doing well.”
Everyone wanted to say something more, but Si Ang said, “That’s true. They weren’t reunited when they needed them most, and now they don’t need to be.”
Those unaware of the situation might have thought this statement was morally questionable, but since it was their boss speaking, they couldn’t argue.
Lin Chen quickly chimed in, “Mr. Si is right.”
After breakfast, his colleagues volunteered to wash the dishes, while Lin Chen took out his notebook and pen, making the most of every minute to teach Si Ang how to write.
After all, the Slender Gold style wasn’t easy to learn.
Si Ang listened to Lin Chen explain the characteristics of this style and asked with interest, “Is this a style you created?”
“I’ve never seen it before; it’s very unique.”
The strokes were slender and vibrant, strong and powerful, the left-falling strokes like daggers, the right-falling strokes like cutting knives—it was pleasing to the eye from every angle.
Lin Chen: “It was created by a calligrapher named Zhao Ji, who has been gone for a long time.”
“I learned it by copying from calligraphy models.”
Si Ang found it strange and asked, “Since it has an origin, why isn’t it widely known?”
He didn’t think his aesthetic sense was bad.
Lin Chen thought to himself, if it were widely known, countless lovesick men and women would be banging their heads against walls day and night for it.
“It’s just not on this planet.”
Lin Chen: “Perhaps the calligraphy copybook I received is a unique copy.”
This reason was too lame. Si Ang looked at him with suspicion, but didn’t ask further: “So you’re just going to teach me like this?”
Lin Chen nodded: “Yes, if one day it can be passed down again, I think the calligrapher would be very happy.”
Si Ang thought for a moment and said: “I won’t let you teach me for free, I’ll pay you to buy the copybook.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Lin Chen refused: “Such an elegant matter, don’t talk to me about money. I’m happy that you’re willing to learn, even if it’s just to appease you.”
Si Ang was taken aback, frowning: “Who said it’s just to appease me?”
He thought his praise earlier was quite obvious.
Lin Chen smiled: “It’s even better if it isn’t.”
“Although my life is a bit tight, I don’t trade everything; that wouldn’t be meaningful.”
With that, Lin Chen made a move, and the elegant characters ‘Si Ang’ appeared on the paper. He pushed it over.
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